Present
by BansheeFromHell
Summary: It's Shizuo's birthday, and Nikki wants to get him something special to celebrate his big day. Will she succeed, or will a certain information broker ruin everything?


**Banshee: Hi everybody. Just thought I'd put up a little oneshot featuring my favorite DRRR! character. Happy birthday, Shizuo~!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC and the plot.**

* * *

><p>Late January in Ikebukuro.<p>

It was windy, and cold as hell. Despite it being January, there was barely any snow on the ground; that's the way it is in most cities. The only places that had snow were street corners, sidewalks, the tops of trees and buildings, the park, and any area that wasn't paid attention to.

In my time in Ikebukuro, I learned the date of a certain blonde's birthday; the 28th, which was… today!

Shizuo didn't seem excited that his birthday was today. His behavior hinted that he had no idea what day it was; either that, or he didn't care.

I watched him as he sat on Shinra's couch, determined to prod him and figure out what I was going to do for his big day. I had to do it in a subtle way, of course. Shizuo isn't stupid. He would figure out my plan if I was too obvious.

Celty was out making a delivery and Shinra was out doing his job as an underground surgeon; no telling when either one of them would be back.

"So, Shizu-nii…" I said, giving him some hot chocolate. "A little birdie told me that it's your birthday today."

He took the mug from me, and paused when he heard the word 'birthday.' After a few seconds, he shrugged.

"Huh. I guess it is." He said.

He didn't ask how I knew. He figured that Shinra, Celty, or the flea must have told me.

"You're not excited about it?" I asked.

"Why would I be?"

"The fact that it's your birthday is reason enough to be excited."

Shizuo's only response to that was a shrug of the shoulders and an uninterested "Eh."

I sighed. "You're hopeless, Shizu-nii…"

Then I asked, "If I go get Izaya for you, then would you be happy?"

"If you think you can catch him." He said, smirking a little.

I knew he was thinking about what me chasing Izaya would look like, and I could see the image playing in his mind…

It would kind of be like those Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons; me being the coyote and Izaya being the roadrunner. Everything I try would backfire on me, and Izaya would stick his tongue out and go 'Meep! Meep!' and run - or in his case skip - away, leaving me to look like a jackass.

"Chasing him around Ikebukuro would be too much work.." I grumbled. "I could get you something else."

"Look, you don't have to get me anything fancy. Just buy whatever you want." Shizuo said.

"Okay then." I said with a smile, nodding. "You stay right there and stay warm, and I'll get you something nice."

I didn't give him enough time to respond as I merrily skipped out the door.

…

As I made my way out of the building, I heard a familiar, grating voice greet, "Well, well, if it isn't Nikki-chan~.."

"Beat it, you bloodsucker." I growled, already knowing who it was. "I don't have time to deal with you today."

"Unfortunately, I don't have time for you either." Izaya said with fake regret, shrugging. "I have urgent business to take care of. Maybe we can hang out later~."

My eye twitched at the idea.

Before Izaya left, he added, "Oh, and tell Shizu-chan I said 'happy birthday..' Also, tell him I have a nice little present for him, and I would _love_ to see how it would look in his back."

I didn't need more than one brain cell to know what he was talking about.

"Oh I'm sure he would _love_ that.." I muttered sarcastically.

"Ciao~!" He said, skipping away.

"Stupid flea.." I grumbled.

…

- Twenty Minutes Later -

…

Shizuo likes sweets, so I decided to get him some candy; chocolate, to be more precise. I didn't know what kind of chocolate he would like more, so I bought him a box of assorted chocolates.

I skipped merrily down the street as I looked for Shizuo (it had been twenty minutes, and he probably left Shinra's by now), eager to give him his present.

Suddenly, I nearly tripped as my shoelace mysteriously came undone. I always tied my shoes in a double knot so they wouldn't come undone, so I was left to wonder… how the hell did it come undone? Shrugging, I put the box of chocolates down and tended to my loose lace. Once it was tied, I reached over to grab the - hey, wait a minute… it's gone!

"Huh? Where'd the chocolate go?" I exclaimed.

I looked around, freezing when I saw those familiar black shoes next to me. Higher up, I saw the furry hem of a jacket, then a hood, then a pair of auburn eyes.

"I-_Izaya_?"

He pretended to act surprised to see me, and finished the contents of the box in his hands, said box looking eerily familiar.

My eyes widened.

He. Did. _NOT_…

"_Tell_ me you did _not_ just eat those…" I growled.

"Why?" He asked innocently, licking the chocolate off his fingers; an action he performed just to spite me. "Were they meant for somebody else?"

"I bought those for Shizuo!" I yelled.

"Oh, I'm so sorry~…" He said in mock apology.

"No you're not." I deadpanned.

"You know, I don't like sweets, but I have to admit, you have good taste in chocolate."

"Thanks Izaya, that means a lot coming from you.."

"You really think so~?"

"No."

"Ooh, that hurt…"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure it did.."

…

- An Hour Later -

…

Since Izaya ruined the chocolate idea, I moved on to the next possible gift idea; ice cream. I stood in one of Ikebukuro's ice cream shops, eyeing some sundaes.

"Which one should I get?" I muttered to myself as I glanced between two sundaes. "The one with the banana or the one with the strawberries…?"

"I'd pick the strawberry."

I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard Izaya's voice in my ear.

"What the fu-?" I shrieked, spinning around. "_Izaya_?"

"Hello~." He greeted.

"Get out of here!" I yelled.

"No." He refused. "This is a public place. I have just as much a right to be here as you do."

"Ugh.." I groaned. Then I turned to the clerk and asked, "Do you have any special birthday sundaes?"

The chipper young woman behind the counter answered with a smile, "Sure we do. What flavor would you like?"

"Hm… How about strawberry?"

"Small, medium, or large?"

"Medium."

She left the counter and returned a short time later with a strawberry sundae.

"Wow, this is a medium?" I muttered to myself after I paid the clerk. "It's as big as my head.. Oh well. Shizuo likes desserts anyway. He'd probably scarf this down in less than a minute."

"_Has he ever had brain freeze?"_ I wondered as I walked out of the shop. _"And if he did, could he feel it? Guess I'll find out when I give it to him. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he-"_

My train of thought was cut off when I felt my foot get caught on something. I caught myself before I could fall, but my fumbling caused the sundae to fall out of my hands. It fell into the sidewalk before I could catch it, and I stood there in horror as the pink ice cream splattered onto the pavement.

"_S-Shizu-nii's sundae…"_

Izaya, who was standing next to me, said in mock sympathy, "Ooh~, that sucks.."

Knowing he had something to do with it, I turned around and demanded, "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Do what?" He asked innocently.

"You made me drop the sundae!"

"I did no such thing." He denied. Seeing my disbelieving glare, he said, "What? Don't you believe me?"

"Hell will freeze over before I believe anything _you_ say." I growled.

"Even if it was the truth?"

"Even if it was the truth."

…

- A Half Hour Later -

…

Thanks to a certain flea, the number of gift options was dwindling. My last option was baked goods; cakes, cupcakes, cookies, etc.

Shinra was home when I stormed into his apartment. He was in the kitchen, getting some coffee.

"I need to borrow your kitchen, Shinra." I said.

"Borrow it?" He asked. "For what?"

"None of your business!" I yelled. "Now out!"

"Out of the kitchen, or-"

"No! Get out of the apartment! I'm working on something very important and I don't want anyone to see it until it's done!"

"But this is my apartment." Shinra objected. "You can't just come in here and tell me to-"

"Don't talk back!"

I grabbed him by his coat and pushed him towards the door. When he tried digging his heels into the floor, I pushed harder. As we approached the door, Celty had come home and was about to enter the apartment when I barged through the door with Shinra kicking and screaming. Even without her head, I could still see that 'WTF?' look on her face as I pushed both her and Shinra into the hallway outside the apartment.

"Everybody out! Out, _out_, _**out**_!" I shrieked, slamming the door shut. Then I rubbed my hands together and said, "Okay~, now to get cooking~!"

Shizuo is like a child as far as tastes are concerned; he likes sweets and detests anything bitter. Cake seemed like the best option. I gathered all the ingredients and tools and arranged them all neatly on the counter. The cake was going to be three layers, so I started mixing up the batter. Suddenly, I heard a door opening and closing, and froze.

"Ooh, something smells good in here~…"

Slowly turning around, I almost dropped the mixing bowl when I saw Izaya standing there.

"I… I-_Izaya_?"

"Oh, hello Nikki-chan~."

"H-How long have you…?"

"I've been in here for a while." He said. "I was paying Shinra a visit, and I had to go to the bathroom, and then I come out and here you are in an apron baking a cake. You look so adorable; like a little housewife~."

"Get. Out. NOW!" I growled.

Izaya ignored me and went over to the bowl of batter I had on the counter.

"Ooh, chocolate~.."

"Stay away from that!" I yelled, making him flinch as he was about to touch it. "It's for Shizuo!"

"It's for Shizu-chan, eh?" He asked, his eyes flickering darkly. It disappeared in a millisecond, and he asked innocently, " Can I help?"

"Hell no!" I yelled. "I know you! You'd poison it, or something!"

Izaya gasped, staggering backwards dramatically.

"I can't believe you'd think so lowly of me… I am so offended."

"Like I care. Now get out." I growled, pushing him out of the kitchen.

As I was pushing him, Izaya dug his heels into the floor, and we were stuck in one spot as I put all my strength into pushing him forward, growling in frustration when he wouldn't budge. He is a pretty skinny guy, and I figured that he wouldn't weight too much either, but suddenly it was like I was trying to push a boulder.

"Move it!" I yelled.

"If you say so."

He stepped to the side, and I suddenly found myself regretting pushing him so hard. Izaya made no attempt to catch me as I fell face-first on the floor.

"Oopsie~."

"Bastard…" I growled.

I got up off the floor and glared at Izaya, who had an amused look on his face.

"What are you smirking at?"

"You look so cute when you're angry~."

"Ugh.. Stupid flea."

Pushing past Izaya, I picked up the bowl of chocolate cake batter and stirred it some more before putting some into a cake pan. The oven was already on, so I popped the cake inside and set the timer. As I was waiting for the cake to bake, I glanced over at the flea. His smirk had gotten wider, the sight of it giving me an unsettling feeling in my gut.

He was up to something.

"Izaya…"

"Yes~?"

"Why are you smiling like that?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing." He said. "I just added a little something extra to the cake batter."

"Y-You did _what_?" I shrieked.

"It's not that big a deal. I don't think it had enough 'oomph' to it, so I added an extra ingredient. I think it's a lot better now."

"What did you put in there, Izaya?" I demanded.

Izaya gave me a wicked smirk. "Let's just say Shizu-chan's cake will have _explosive_ flavor.."

"YOU PUT EXPLOSIVES IN IT?" I yelled. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"They'll give the cake an extra kick~."

I couldn't stop myself. I face palmed.

"If you're going to put explosives in the cake, then you should have put them in _after_ the cake was baked; _not_ while it's cooking in the oven!"

"Oops~.." Izaya said with mock guilt, his face turning sad as he put a finger to his chin; which would have been cute if he wasn't such a douche. "Guess I forgot about that.."

I didn't believe for a second that he did it on accident; he was too smart for that. The bastard must have put the explosives in the batter while I was distracted (I.e. face-first on the floor), hoping that they would heat up in the oven and explode, ruining everything.

Sure enough, smoke started pouring out of the oven. The smoke detector was beeping, and Izaya continued to stand there with a smirk on his face while I was horrified.

"Oh no…"

_BOOM!_

The oven exploded in a mess of chocolate and metal parts. I ducked to avoid a red-hot heating coil as it was flying across the room and out the window. I could barely make out a crash, followed by a car alarm. Luckily, Izaya and I got out of the explosion unscathed by hiding behind the kitchen's little 'island.' Grabbing a fire extinguisher, I put out the fire that the explosion caused. The wall behind the oven was black, trailing up to the ceiling, and the area around it was black too. Even the floor was stained black, and chocolate batter was splattered on the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"Shinra's going to kill me…" I muttered to myself.

"MY KITCHEN!" I heard Shinra shriek.

Shinra stood, horrified, in the doorway, with Celty standing next to him with shock written all over her.

"Wh-What happened in here?" Shinra demanded.

"Don't look at me!" I yelled dejectedly when he looked at me. I pointed to Izaya. "It was _Izaya_!"

Izaya shrugged. "There you go again, blaming me for everything."

"I'm blaming you because it was YOUR FAULT!"

[Everybody calm down.] Said Celty. [What happened, Nikki?]

I explained, "I wanted to make a cake for Shizuo, but the stupid flea put explosives in the batter and the oven exploded.."

[Izaya did _what_?] Celty exclaimed.

"It was an honest mistake." Izaya said.

"'Honest mistake,' my _ass_!"

"And it is a very cute ass."

"Grr! That's it! You're dead!"

I grabbed a frying pan and tossed it at the flea, but he sidestepped out of the way and smirked.

"Whoops~." He mocked. "You missed me~."

"IIZZAAAYYAAAAA!"

"You sound just like Shizu-chan when you say that… You're not cute anymore."

"[BLEEP] you!" I cursed.

"Oooh, such _language_~!" Izaya scolded. "It's not very ladylike, Nikki-chan~."

"Bite me." I growled.

He gave me a sickeningly sweet smile. "As you wish."

I felt a sharp pain as the flea bit down on the skin of my shoulder.

"Ouch!" I yelped, rubbing my shoulder. "Izaya!"

I tried to punch him, but he moved backwards, out of my reach.

"As fun as this is," Izaya said regretfully. "I have some urgent business to attend to. Bye-bye~…"

"IZAYA!"I screeched as Izaya skipped out of the apartment. "YOU CONNIVING, BACK-STABBING, NO GOOD, PAIN IN THE ASS BLOOD-SUCKING LITTLE FLEA! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!"

"Damn him…" I growled. "Sorry about your kitchen.."

Celty waved it off. [Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault.]

"What am I going to do now?" I asked, sulking a little. "Izaya ruined all of my gift ideas. Now I don't have _anything_ to give Shizu-nii for his birthday…"

[You're a smart girl. You'll think of something.] She encouraged.

"You know what? You're right, Celty. And I think I already have." I gave the Dullahan a 'thank you' hug and jogged out of the apartment, stopping at the door. "Bye Celty, bye Shinra!"

"Hey!" Shinra exclaimed. "W-Wait a minute! Who'll clean up this mess?"

He gestured to his destroyed oven.

"I'll come back later." I said simply, before leaving.

…

A short time later, I wandered through the streets of Ikebukuro, with Shizuo's present tucked snugly in my jacket. I didn't bother to wrap it; one, because I was pressed for time, and two, because Shizuo wouldn't care if it was wrapped or not.

After a while, it felt like hours in my opinion, I finally found him.

There he was, just standing there smoking a cigarette; as usual. He wasn't wearing a jacket. He just stood there, in the middle of winter, with nothing but his bartender uniform.

"_How can he stand out here without a jacket?" _I thought. _"He's just asking for a cold…"_

"Shizu-nii!" I called out to him, catching his attention.

"Hm?" He turned his head, blinking when he saw me. "Oh. Hey."

"How was your day?" I asked.

"The same as any other day. Why do you have chocolate on your face?"

I blinked. "Chocolate?"

Shizuo took his index finger and tapped the left side of his face, under his eye. I rubbed that spot with my hand and withdrew it, and, lo and behold, there was a brown smudge on my glove.

I grinned sheepishly. "Oh, that. It's a long story, but I can sum it up in one word; flea."

He growled darkly. "Oh."

"I have something for you." I said, reaching into my jacket. I pulled out something blue and handed it to Shizuo, who blinked.

"A scarf?"

"Yup." I nodded. "My Nana makes scarves for me, but I have so many that not all of them get used. The things she makes are very special to me, and I give some to my friends to show them how much I care about them."

He blinked again, seeming almost confused by what I said. "You care about me that much?"

"Well _duh_! You're my friend, and you're like a big brother to me. Why wouldn't I care about you?"

Shizuo blinked for the millionth time, staying silent for a few seconds. Then he smiled slightly and shook his head, taking his hand and patting me on the head.

"You're such a kid, you know that?"

I chuckled, then wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug, catching the blonde by surprise.

"Happy birthday, Shizu-nii."

"Uh…" He patted me on the head awkwardly. "Yeah, thanks.."

"If you ruin that scarf, I'll kick your ass." I warned.

"I'd like to see you try, kid."

"Stop calling me that!"

…

…


End file.
